Young Mother Gazing at Her Child

1871
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 827

This doting mother in picturesque dress and her angelic offspring are two of many such figures that Bouguereau painted with an eye to the international market. The scene is highly similar in subject and composition to Breton Brother and Sister, also dated 1871 (hanging nearby), and both works were bought by New York collectors—a testament to the popularity that the artist’s scenes of "princesses dressed up as milkmaids" enjoyed in America.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Young Mother Gazing at Her Child
  • Artist: William Bouguereau (French, La Rochelle 1825–1905 La Rochelle)
  • Date: 1871
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 56 x 40 1/2 in. (142.2 x 102.9 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Zene Montgomery Pyle, 1993
  • Object Number: 1993.402
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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